Mine anchor-line cutter



June 17, 1947. R. TEMPLE MINE ANCHOR-LINE CUTTER Filed Nov. 6, 1945 3Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Posse?- EMPLE WITNESSES: f

OMWW June 17, 1947. R. TEMPLE 2,422,506

MINE ANCHOR-LINE CUTTER Filed Nov. 6, 1945 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORROBERT 72(7PLE.

BY b ww b wh w TTORNEYS.

June 17, 1947. R. TEMPLE 2,422,506

MINE ANCHOR-LINE CUTTER 7 Filed Nov. 6, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORfXFNITNESSES. 205E127 72mm:- WZ, Mm g, L BY Mia/ M 7 'HLSATTORNEYS.

tion taken on Patented June 17, 1947 MINE ANCHOR-LINE CUTTER RobertTemple, Swissvale, Pa., .ple Velocity Equipment, Inc.,

assignor to Tem- Wilmington, 1001.,

a corporation of Delaware Application November 6, 1945, Serial No.626,969

9 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for cutting the lines by whichexplosive mines are anchored below the surface of oceans and otherbodies of water, and more particularly to such devices in which thecutting member is actuated by an explosive charge.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a mine anchor-linecutter which can not catch onto a mine line after the cutter has beenoperated, which is practically certain to operate in all cases, whichcan out both hard and soft chains and also cables, and which isrelatively small and light in weight.

In accordance with this invention a frame, adapted to be connected to asweep line. carries a cutting member that has a cutting end. A guidemember, connected to the frame by breakable means such as a shear pin,has an anvil portion disposed in the path of the cutting member. Theguide is shaped to direct a mine anchor-line into a position between thecutting end of the cutter and the anvil portion of the guide. Explosivemeans is carried by the frame for driving the cutter through'the mineline and'then against the anvil portion of the guide with sufficientforce to cause the shear pin to break and release the guide member fromthe frame. After the guide member has left the frame, nothing remains tohook the frame onto another mine line.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a front view of my cuttingdevice; Fig. 2 is a rear view; Fig. 3 is a horizontal seethe lineIII-III of Fig. 2 and showing the cutter attached to the sweep line;Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig.3; Fig. 5 is an end view of the cutting notch end of the device; andFig. 6 is a plan view, partly in section, showing the device after ithas cut a mine anchor-line.

Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings, a stabilizing fin I. has itslongitudinal axis extending in the direction in which the device ispulled through the water by a sweep line 2 extending backwardly andlaterally from a mine sweeper in a well known manner. The front edge ofthe fin is inclined to its longitudinal axis to the same degree as thesweep line. This front edge is provided at opposite ends with integralears 3 and 4 that hook over the sweep line and extend rearwardlyparallel to the fin. Bolts 6 extending through the fin and these carshold the fin on the sweep line, while clamped on the line it fromsliding outwardly along the a tapered collar 1 (Fig. 3) at the far sideof the fin keeps line and yet permits it to rotate thereon so that itcan stay horizontal.

Rigidly mounted on the front portion of the fin is the metalframe ill ofthe cutting device. The longitudinal axis of this frame extends acrossthe fin, and the frame is set back from the front corner of the fin sothat only a small amount of the frame extends across the inclined frontedge of the fin. front side of this outwardly projecting portion of theframe is provided with a recess II that extends longitudinally of theframe away from the fin to the adjacent end of the frame. The frame alsois provided with a longitudinalbore extending inwardly from the innerend of recess H, and this bore normally contains a cutting punch I2 thatis held retracted in proper position by a shear pin 13 extending throughit and the surrounding frame.

The end of the frame beside the recess is provided with a slot l5 forreceiving a tongue I4 on one end of a guide member E6. The tongue andframe I!) are provided with transverse passages through which a shearpin I1 extends. This pin is only in the tongue [4, so that when the pinis sheared off its ends will fall out of the frame passages. The guidemember it extends across the end of recess II to form an anvil portion18, and then the guide turns and extends along the front side of therecess toward the punch. At a point spaced from the punch the guide isinclined forward away from the frame to form a finger l9 that willintercept a, mine anchor-line and direct it into the cutting notchformed by recess ll between .the guide'and frame.

When a mine anchor-line 2|, across which the sweep line and fin havebeen dragged, is caught in the'cutting notch it is cut by the punchwhich is driven against it by the force of an explosion from a.cartridge 22 removably mounted in a small bore in the frame at the innerend of the punch. During cutting, the mine line is backed up by-thefront and back walls of the cutting notch, and by the anvil in the pathof the punch. To explode the cartridge, a firing mechanism is mounted inthe inner end of the frame. This mechanism includes a breech block 23which is removably mounted in a slot in the top of the frame by means ofa screw 24. This block is provided'with a passage 21 in axial alignmentwith the cartridge, the cartridge end of the passage being of materiallyreduced diameter. Slidably mounted in this passage is a, firing pin 28the inner end of which is provided with four laterally projecting wings29 that. engage the wall of the passage As shown in Fig. 3, the

and guide the pin therein. The pin is urged inwardly by an encirclingcoil spring 3| compressed between the wings and the reduced end of thepassage. The opposite ends of the wings engage the side of the front endof a lever 32 mounted in a transverse slot 33 in the inner end of thebreech block. The central portion of this lever is pivotally mounted ona vertical pin 34 so that it can swing toward and away from thecartridge. The rear portion of the block is provided with a passage 36parallel to the firing pin passage and containing a piston 3! thatengages the same side of the lever as the firing pin 28, but at theopposite end thereof. The piston extends only about half way throughpassage 36. It will be seen that when the piston suddenly is movedtoward the lever it will rock the lever on its pivot and thereby forcethe firing pin against the cartridge which will thereby be discharged todrive the cutting punch into the cutting notch.

To prevent piston 31 from being moved accidentally, and thereby causingthe cartridge to be discharged, the firing mechanism is so formed thatit can not be operated unless the piston passage behind the piston isfull of water. This occurs only when the cutter is in the ocean or otherbody of water in which it is being used. To force the water against thepiston so that it will be actuated, a plunger is mounted in the frame inaxial alignment with the piston. This plunger has a rectangular portion38 that is slidable in a guiding slot 39 extending lengthwise of theback side of the frame. A retaining pin 45 extends across the slotsubstantially in engagement with the rear side of this rectangularportion to help hold the plunger in the slot. The plunger is also heldin place by a rod 42 connected to its rear end and slidably mounted in abore through a block 43 rigidly mounted in slot 39 behind the cuttingnotch. The plunger is urged toward the breech block by a coil spring 44encircling the rod and compressed between the plungers rectangularportion and block 43. The plunger normally is held in retractedposition, with the spring compressed, by means of a trip pin 45 of smalldiameter extending through the guide member, across the cutting notch,through the frame and into a transverse opening 47 in the plunger rod.The front end of the plunger has a cylindrical head 48 which enters therear end of piston passage 38 when the plunger is released, and therebyforces the water in the passage against the piston to move it aheadagainst lever 32.

If the plunger is accidentally released when the apparatus is out of thewater, the plunger will not actuate the piston because a lateralprojection 43 on the plunger will strike pin 4! before the head canstrike the piston or the plunger can strike the breech block. To retractor cook the plunger it is pushed backwardly by any suitable tool (notshown) forced against projection 49. When in cocked position, a safetypin is inserted in a hole through the frame with a portion of the pindirectly in front of the plunger. Another safety pin 52 extends into ahole in the breech block and through a notch in one of the wings of thefiring pin. These two safety pins are connected by a.

chain 53 by which they can be pulled out of the frame and breech block.They are not removed until trip pin 46 has been inserted in the plungerrod and the apparatus is about to be lowered into the water.

When a mine anchor-line 2i enters the cutting notch it engages trip pin46, the front end of which is held in fixed position by engagement ofits head with guide member "5. As the front end of the pin therefore cannot move when the mine line bends the pin toward anvil IS, the rear endof the pin is pulled out of plunger rod opening 41, thu releasing theplunger. The released plunger forces the water in passage 36 againstpiston 31 and thereby actuates the firing mechanism. The force of theexplosion of cartridge 22 builds up until suflicient to cause thecutting punch to shear off pin l3. The punch then shoots forward, and incutting the mine line it also shears off the portion of the trip pin 46in the cutting notch. Shear pin II, which connects guide member Hi tothe frame, is strong enough to hold the anvil H3 in place until thepunch has severed the mine line. The impact of the punch against theanvil then causes the tongue I 4 of the guide member IE to shear off pinI! and slide out of frame slot l5. Of course, this means that the guidemember, as well as the punch, leaves the frame and is lost. However, asillustrated in Fig. 6, the loss of these relatively inexpensive parts isjustified by the fact that separation of the guide member from the frameeliminates the cutting notch so that there is no longer any such notchin which another mine anchor-line might catch. It is obvious that ifthis apparatus, after it had been discharged, were to hook onto anothermine line, the latter would not be cut but would be dragged along behindthe mine sweeper. This would necessitate cutting the sweep line in orderto free the ship from the dangerous mine. The present inventioneliminates this difficulty by ridding the cutting device of its hookedend as soon as the cartridge is discharged.

Although the mine anchor-line is shown as being a cable 2!, it isunderstood that it may be either a hard or soft chain either of whichwill be cut by my cutting device as easily as a cable. In the case of ahard chain the cutting action is more in the nature of a breakingbecause the impact of the punch against a chain link causes the link tosnap apart like a piece of glass. To prevent chain links from becominglocked in the entering portion of the cutting notch, in which case thechain would not slide back in the notch far enough to bend trip pin 46,the portion of the guide member in front of its anvil portion is madequite narrow and is tapered toward the cutting notch, as shown at 55 inFig. 5. Therefore, there is no opportunity for the chain to bind in thenotch before it reaches the trip pin. The shear pin I1 is made strongenough for the particular type of line expected to be cut, and ifdesired, a strong enough pin can be used to hold the anvil in placeagainst the impact of the cutter,

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple and construction of my invention and have illustrated anddescribed what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However,I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallyillustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by the frame and having a cutting end, a guide member having ananvil portion disposed in the path of the cutting member, said guidebeing shaped to direct a mine line into a position between the cuttingend of the cutter and said anvil portion of the guide, breakable meansconnecting said guide member to the frame, and explosive means carriedby the frame for driving the cutter through said line and then againstsaid anvil portion with sufficient force to cause said breakable meansto break and release the guide member from the frame.

2. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by the frame and having a cutting end, a guide member having ananvil portion disposed in the path of the cutting member, said guidebeing shaped to direct a mine line into a position between the cuttingend of the cutter and said anvil portion of the guide, a shear pinconnecting said guide member to the frame, and explosive means carriedby the frame for driving the cutter through said line and then againstsaid anvil portion with sufficient force to sever said pin, whereby theguide member is released from the frame.

3. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by the frame and having a cutting end, a guide member having ananvil portion disposed in the path of the cutting member, said guidebeing shaped to direct a mine line into a position between the cuttingend of the cutter and said anvil portion of the guide, a shear pinconnecting one end of said guide member to the frame at one side of saidpath of the cutting member, and explosive means carried by the frame fordriving the cutter through said line and then against said anvil portionwith sufficient force to sever said pin, whereby the guide member isreleased from the frame.

4. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by the frame and having a cutting end, a guide member having ananvil portion disposed in the path of the cutting member, said guidebeing shaped to direct a mine line into a position between the cuttingend of the cutter and said anvil portion of the guide, the end of theframe adjacent said guide member being bifurcated to receive one end ofthe guide member, a shear pin extending through said bifurcated end andadjoining portion of the guide member, and explosive means carried bythe frame for driving the cutter through said line and then against saidanvil portion with sufficient force to sever said pin, whereby the guidemember is released from the frame.

5. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by the frame and having a cutting end, a guide member having ananvil portion disposed in the path of the cutting member, said guidebeing shaped to direct a mine line into a position between the cuttingend of the cutter and said anvil portion of the guide, breakable meansconnecting said guide member to the frame, and explosive means carriedby the frame for driving the cutter through said line and then againstsaid anvil portion with sufficient force to cause said connecting meansto break and release the guide member from the frame, said breakablemeans being strong enough to maintain the guide and frame connecteduntil after the line has been severed.

6. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by the frame and having a cutting end, a guide member having ananvil portion disposed in the path of the cutting member, said guidebeing shaped to direct a mine line into a position between the cuttingend of the cutter and said anvil portion of the guide, means normallyconnecting the guide member to the frame, and explosive means carried bythe frame for driving the cutter through said line and against saidanvil portion, said guide member connecting means releasing the guidefrom the frame when said anvil portion is struck by the cutting member.

'7. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by the frame and having a cutting end, said frame having an openend recess in front of said cutting end, a guide member having an anvilportion extending across the open end of said recess, said guide havinga front portion extending from said anvil portion toward the cutter andthen forward away from the frame to provide a notch for receiving a mineline, breakable means connecting said guide member to the frame, andexplosive means carried by the frame for driving the cutter through saidline and then against said anvil portion with sufficient force to causesaid connecting means to break and release the guide member from theframe.

3. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cutting membercarried by theframe and having a cutting end, said frame having an openend recess in front of said cutting end, a guide member having an anvilportion extending across the open end of said recess, said guide havinga front portion extending from said anvil portion toward the cutter andthen forward away from the frame to provide a notch for receiving a mineline, breakable means connecting said guide member to the frame,explosive means carried by the frame for driving the cutter through saidline and then against said anvil portion with sufiicient force to causesaid connecting means to break and release the guide member from theframe, firing mechanism for discharging said explosive means, and a trippin connected to said front portion of the guide member and extendingacross said notch for holding said firing mechanism cocked, said trippin being adapted to be engaged and bent by said line when it enters thenotch, whereby the pin releases th firing mech-' anism.

9. A mine anchor-line cutter comprising a frame, a cuttin member carriedby the frame and having a cutting end, said frame having an open endrecess in front of said cutting end, a guide member having an anvilportion extending across the open end of said recess, said guide havinga front portion extending from said anvil portion toward the cutter andthen forward away from the frame to provide a notch for receiving a mineline, the opposite side walls of said notch being tapered transverselytoward each other, breakable means connecting said guide member to theframe, and explosive means carried by the frame for driving the cutterthrough said line and then against said anvil portion with sufficientforce to cause said connecting means to break and release the guidemember from the frame.

ROBERT TEMPLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,312,405 Lander Aug. 5, 19191,419,302 Pape June 13, 1922 2,140,214 Temple Dec. 13, 1938 2,335,952Martin Dec, 7, 1943 2,396,707 Kurtz Mar. 19, 1946

